The new employee onboarding experience is a significant part of the new hire lifecycle. It provides an opportunity to make a lasting positive impact on new employees’ first impressions of your company. And, effective onboarding provides new hires with the relevant information and training they need to succeed. Onboarding can’t be neglected because new employee retention rates are higher when new hires feel a sense of belonging early in the employment relationship.
Best practices for employee onboarding.
Continue reading for the best practices to improve the onboarding process for new hires. We’ll also discuss how innovative technologies can help them feel welcome.
Provide a clear and detailed job description.
The new employee onboarding process should begin before new hires start working by providing them with a clear job description that outlines the responsibilities and expectations for new positions. This way they will understand exactly what is expected from them. A good job description includes information such as their:
- Job title, department, and reporting structure
- Role within the organization
Offer to provide additional training.
Overall, new hires will be most effective if they are given the right skills and training to do their new job. New hires should be asked about any training or new skills they may need to do their jobs well before they begin working at the new company. This way, organizations can provide resources to get them up to speed faster and more easily.
Assign a mentor or buddy to help answer questions.
Mentors can play a significant role in new employee onboarding. A new hire mentor should be someone who understands the position and will answer questions employees have about the new company during the onboarding process. New hires will experience less stress as they’re stepping into new positions if there is a friendly face to help them with questions about company procedures and processes.
Hold new employee orientation sessions.
Employees should attend orientation sessions to get the information and resources they need to succeed during their first days on the job. Orientation sessions should provide a tour of office locations and deliver information about compensation plans, benefits information, and training.
Create an employee handbook with all necessary information including benefits, hours of work, dress code, etc.
New employees should be given new hire handbooks during orientation sessions. The new hire handbook will make it easier for employees to get the information they need when they need it. This helps them feel welcome and comfortable at their new company and reduces frustration by providing all relevant information in one place.
Discover our official onboarding handbook for new customers.
How can technology help new team members feel welcome?
HR can get bogged down with menial questions and tasks that hinder them from the valuable work they signed up for. That’s where new technologies can partner with HR teams to play a vital role in onboarding new employees and streamline the onboarding process. In addition, they can improve the overall employee experience.
Here’s how.
Support automation platforms like Capacity harness technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) to give team members the tools they need to do their best work.
For example, Capacity makes it easy to upload all the data team members need to a centralized knowledge base, including industry regulations, the employee handbook, company policies, and team calendars. It then makes the information easy to access with a conversational chatbot. This way, new hires can access the available information with a quick chat—no need to navigate a confusing intranet. This saves everyone’s time and avoids potential embarrassment if they need to ask about something they have already been told.
Capacity can also be used as a new employee training tool that guides employees through a structured onboarding program. Through custom workflows, HR teams can set up onboarding programs that automatically trigger the new hire to complete the next task when they’ve finished the last. And, information is secure because only the right people have access to sensitive or confidential data through permission levels and controls.
Request a demo of Capacity.
In short, Capacity democratizes knowledge and skills across the organization, making it possible for all employees to find the information and resources they need to succeed.